Cave of Bitter Tears
To the Abyss! Hōōden... Raian remembered it well. Despite its appearance as small shack, it contained a massive underground expanse of rooms. The most important, though, was the Kōruihora, an underground training room completely cloaked in darkness. Ōetsu Nimaiya stood at the entrance of the Hōōden, looking down on Raian from above, light pouring into the room from the doorway. "No more excuses," Ōetsu was saying. "Without Shukai, you aren't beating Akujin. No way." "What do you know of Shukai?" Raian asked, narrowing his eyes against the bright light. "I invented it." Ōetsu countered. "And I know how to help you get it. But first..." Ōetsu waved his hand across the opened, dark expanse of a room. In an instant, Raian's Zanpakutō flew from its sheathe into the short Shinigami's hands, drawing a shocked expression from Raian. Ōetsu examined the blades of Raian's Zanpakutō carefully before continuing. "Hmm..." Ōetsu continued. "This sword is well loved." In one massive movement, Ōetsu slammed both swords together, smashing them into shards, leaving only the handles and guards. Raian's eyes widened tremendously, leaving him speechless. He couldn't believe the man had just effortlessly shattered his Zanpakutō right before his eyes. "Yeah," Ōetsu grunted. "It took a lot of reiatsu to smash the blades. You two are tight. Don't worry. It wasn't in Bankai, it can be repaired." "Are you crazy?!" Raian roared. "How can I learn Shukai without a Zanpakutō?!" Ōetsu glared down at Raian through his sunglasses, "Do Bankai." he stated simply. "Do...?!" Raian began. "You heard me," Ōetsu cut him off. "Do your Bankai. You used to live here. You should know this place is special. Now, hurry up." Raian looked down and began to focus his spiritual pressure. He was convinced Ōetsu was crazy, but decided to humor the elder Shinigami's antics. Surprisingly, the familiar feeling of his Bankai's power began to well up from within him; something he had not expected, given the state of his Zanpakutō's sealed form at the moment. "Bankai!!" Raian declared, "Split Finely..." A shadow began to rise up behind Raian, taking the form of a small young man with long brown hair. As the spirit formed in the real world, Raian felt the immense power of his Bankai leaving his body to animate the shadow, leaving him feeling rather winded and fatigued. "You're...!" Raian began, upon seeing the shadow's form. "Yeah," the boy replied. "I'm Shiseikaze Fūshin. Your Bankai." The Other Side of Raian's Soul....! Ōetsu grinned to himself upon seeing the development. All the rumors he had heard about Raian were true. He had been deprived the opportunity to meet him during his last stay here, but, nevertheless, the man wasn't a disappointment. Only Shinigami who had mastered their Bankai to the highest degree could manifest the Bankai's spirit in the real world, much less once the sword was broken. It was clear to the former Royal Guardsman that this was a Shinigami who had truly bonded with his Zanpakutō. "Here," he sighed, grin still on his face. With a flick of his wrists, he tossed the two remaining hilts of the Zanpakutō down below. Raian caught one of them, while Shiseikaze Fūshin caught the other. Both looked rather perplexed by the gesture, unsure as to what to do with the sword fragments. "If you pour your spiritual energy into those hilts, the sword will regenerate. However, since you are both separate, the Zanpakutō's powers can't be called upon from that sword. That's not really a problem for you, Bankai-san." Ōetsu gestured towards Shiseikaze Fūshin. "However, for Raian-san, that might prove problematic." "What are you planning?" Shiseikaze Fūshin snarled, glaring upwards at Ōetsu. "Me?" Ōetsu replied mockingly. "I'm gonna force you both to learn Shukai. Good luuuck~!" With that, he exited the shack and shut the curtain-like door behind him, casting both Shinigami and Zanpakutō into complete darkness. This didn't last long. Blinding stage lights began to illuminated the room, causing both Raian and Shiseikaze Fūshin to sheild their eyes from the sudden blaze. Upon adjusting, Raian looked at their surroundings. Standing several feet away from them was a man, about Raian's height, with short black hair and a scarred face. He had a maniacal grin on his face, and a crazed look in his eyes. "Who are you?" Raian asked, eyes narrowing. Raian's voice caught Shiseikaze Fūshin's attention, who was, himself, surveying the area. The spirit turned to see what had caught his master's attention, noticing the figure and narrowing his eyes in curiosity. Something was highly unnerving about the man. But it wasn't his physical appearance. It was in the air around him. It was in his spiritual energy. That's when Shiseikaze Fūshin realized it, eyes widening with revelation. "Raian," he gasped, his child form's voice cracking as he did. "That guy has our spiritual pressures...! Both of ours!" "I noticed." Raian quipped, his eyes remaining fixated on the unnerving figure. "That's because," the figure finally spoke, his voice booming and reverberating against the walls of the training facility. "I'm both of you!" Now it was Raian's turn to act surprised. His surprise, however, was quickly awash with questions which ended up answering themselves. This was Ōetsu's doing. Somehow, this must be part of his plan to force them to learn Shukai. The figure must've seen this look of revelation in Raian's eyes, because he frowned and spoke again; "Seems you've already figured it out." it noted. "You are a truly intriguing man, if not completely insane." "What are you?" Raian repeated, changing the phrasing of his question to get more specific answers. "A shade. The dark side of your heart. You can just call me 'Dark Raian'. I think that's fitting, don't you?" the shade replied. "I am the manifestation of yours and Shiseikaze Fūshin's darkest fears and most terrifying nightmares." "Cliche much?" Shiseikaze Fūshin chimed. "Heh," Dark Raian chuckled, "We'll see about that." Reaching behind him, the shade retrieved a large object that was attached to his back. It was a large gunbai, almost the size of the shade itself, with a long black chain running from the base of the gunbai up its sleeve. "This is your Shukai." Dark Raian declared. "Quaint, isn't it? A fan. How befitting of the powers you possess. Beat me, and you'll be able to learn to use it." "That's it?" Raian jabbed. "Beat you and I can use Shukai?" "That's even more cliche." Shiseikaze Fūshin snapped. The shade chuckled again, "Not quite. Let me put it this way; If you can defeat me, you will both have already learned the proper way to manifest Shukai. This is not going to be a walk in the park. You either learn and defeat me, or die trying." "Great..." Raian sighed. "Shall we begin?" Shiseikaze Fūshin asked, turning his head towards Raian. Raian returned his Zanpakutō's gaze, "Yeah. Let's go." With that, both lifted off with an explosion of spiritual pressure, closing in on the shade, who could only flash another maniacal grin as they closed in... Blood, Sweat, and Tears An explosion tore through the air, sending three figures scattering across the space they were confined in. Both Raian and Shiseikaze Fūshin and Raian were huffing vigorously. Only an hour had passed since their struggle had began, yet both were completely winded, while Dark Raian neither seemed tired, nor fully into the fighting, bearing a rather detached expression on his face. "I don't get it." Shiseikaze Fūshin said, speaking up. "We've definitely been hitting him. Why isn't he hurt?" Raian panted in exhaustion and narrowed his eyes, "I don't get it either. He should be fatally injured after that attack." he noted. Shiseikaze Fūshin looked down at the blade in his hand, which was trembling slightly, "Our reiatsu has almost restored the blades. Let's try again once they're restored." he suggested. "I doubt that's going to yield any better result." Raian bluntly stated. Shiseikaze Fūshin looked over, comically annoyed, "Well then, what's your plan, Mr. Genius?" he snapped. "Just listen," Raian barked. "He's not a normal opponent. That being said, it should stand to reason that we can't beat him by normal means." "That's specific." Shiseikaze Fūshin retorted sarcastically. "Let's go again. Follow my lead. I have a plan." Raian declared, leaping forward. "Yes, your Majesty." Shiseikaze Fūshin cooed, leaping in after him. From above, Ōetsu watched from the entrance of the palace as the battle below unfolded. He couldn't help but smirk at the interaction between the Shinigami and Zanpakutō duo. Though they were bickering, he could feel the real bond of friendship the two shared. "They just might do this..." he thought silently to himself, letting out a little chuckle. The Darkness Deepens... Meanwhile, back in the Soul Society... The Seireitei was in flames. The battle of the Rukongai had gone poorly for the allied spiritual forces. The fighting still raged on, forces on both sides roaring as they charged for each other. However, beneath the Seireitei, unbeknownst to the leadership of the Alliance, darkness was about to be set free once again on the Soul Society. The footsteps of Akujin rang out as he slowly made his way down the lengthy halls into the abyss of the Seireitei's lower tunnels. No one, save for his top generals, knew that he had arrived in Soul Society. He didn't want to draw the attention of the battles to his arrival just yet. He smirked to himself as he continued his course. Despite slight interference from Raian, his plan was proceeding excellently. For the last hundred and fifty years, this plan had been in the works. His defeat a few years ago by Raian was merely a minor setback. Now that he had arrived here, everything would finally come to a head. Finally, he reached the location he had determined to reach. A large door, leading to a dark, cave-like cell, branded with the insignia of the First Division, stood before him. Examining the area with his senses, it immediately became apparent to the evil mastermind that the cell was riddled with Kidō traps. Clearly, no one wanted what was inside to get out by any means. Luckily for him, Akujin had once been the acting Captain-Commander, back during the days following the Winter War, during a time of re-stability for the Soul Society. He knew what needed to be done. He had to do it quick though. If Captain-Commander Yachiru Unohana arrived in the Seireitei, he would be detected quickly. With a wave of his hand, the Kidō traps began to glow brightly. He muttered a brief incantation, almost a whisper under his breath, which caused the bindings to snap like twigs. He then clapped his hands together. With a rumble and a loud BOOM, the cell door itself, in all its massive glory, erupted, spewing rock, sekki-seki bolts and iron rods flying past Akujin, along with a dust cloud which clouded his vision. In a spite of this, another set of footsteps began to ring out, seemingly coming from the destruction itself. These footsteps were more graceful, more methodical, than Akujin's. As Akujin narrowed his eyes, he noticed the approaching figure and knelt on his knees. He then proceeded to bow his head. "Its been awhile, Tadoku-kun." a smooth, yet baritone voice said from the smoke. "Truly it has been." Akujin replied, head still bowed. "I trust things are progressing as they were instructed?" the voice asked, footsteps now drawing closer to Akujin's side. "There were a few minor setbacks, but everything is proceeding exactly as planed now." Akujin replied, finally looking up. "Excellent." the voice replied, a small tone of mocking sarcasm lacing the word. "Now that this deed is done, let us go and begin the second phase of this little war you've started." The footsteps now passed Akujin as the smoke cleared, revealing the figure of a man walking passed Akujin back into the darkness in which the latter had come from, heading towards the surface. Slowly, yet gracefully, Akujin lifted himself back to his feet, crossing his arms and following the man out of the chamber. "As you wish," he uttered in an almost whispering voice, "Aizen-sama...!" The man Akujin bows to! What could this development mean?! A full explanation in the next chapter! End